Brian Verret

Brian Verret (1919-) was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State House from 1990.

Biography
Brian Verret was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1919, and he worked as a soap salesman before becoming involved in Democratic politics. He was a longtime member of the Lake Charles City Council before being elected to the State House in 1990, serving as the House Minority Leader. He ran for Governor that same year, but he lost with just 20.7% of the vote to the Republican challenger Mary Royce's 44.8%; he placed in third behind another Republican Brian Moyer's 34.5%. That same year, only 13.38% of Louisianans voted Democratic, with 48.84% voting for the Establishment Republicans and 37.78% voting for populist Republican candidates. Verret attempted to appeal to voters by pursuing moderate policies such as opposing gun control and the legalization of prostitution, the latter of which was supported and passed by the Republican majority. In the elections of mid-1990, the Democrats rose to 19.28% of the vote and 7 seats, while the Republican majority dropped to 80.72% and 29 seats. Nonetheless, Verret only won 24.6% of the vote in the ensuing gubernatorial election and remained House Minority Leader.